I Tested a 2-in-1 Smart Telescope: EduSnap - Affordable Stargazing for Kids & Education
🔭 Reviewing the EduSnap Astro Smart Telescope 🔭 In this video, I dive into the new EduSnap Astro smart telescope, still in its Kickstarter phase and priced at $159. It claims to...
Can the telescope be removed from the motor mount so it can be mounted to an EQ mount? Thanks for the review
Yes you could but it wouldn’t work with the software
I got mine last week and tried it last night but I don’t see anything your app is showing you! As far as stars it showed a hundred different colour dots on the screen and that’s it!
A hundred different color dots sounds like hot pixels. Ensure the mirror is flipped the right way and you’re in focus!
I received mine a couple of weeks ago (Minnesota, USA). It works. It is a bit picky about the type of power supply (with some it makes odd noises and the motor fails, but with others the mechical aspects work fine), and hot pixels are a big issue, even when darks are taken. I am still looking for a way to get at the internal storage (so far I just have the jpgs it sends to the ipad app), but maybe that is my incompetence somehow... I couldn't find an Android app, but fortunately do have one iOS device (and that version is available in the AppStore). They have just sent a message acknowledging supply problems for some customers and promising a firmware update next week. So I wouldn't say it's a scam, but there are some disappointing aspects as things stand. You actually get quite a lot for the $160; I just wish it worked as well as it seems like it should. (The photos I got last night - M8, M17, M16, M24 - look rather nice, apart from the streams of hot pixels all across them.) If nothing else, one could attach a different astro camera to the eyepiece (if you have one to hand), perhaps.
Good video. I mean you did what you could with that.... thing :D but as someone wrote on CLoudyNight: ''Some customers still have not received their goods, since the link that the Edusnap team gave is not tracked. On the Edusnap project page, in the comments section, there are many questions for the developers, but they stopped answering these questions a long time ago. They also do not answer the email provided on the site. It seems that people were deceived by selling them a low-quality product, and then they themselves disappeared. I was lucky to receive my telescope, but I can not use it because it does not work. There is something rattling and dangling inside the telescope, and accordingly the telescope does not work. The provided phone app also works very poorly. Frequent failures and disconnects. I repeat, the developers have stopped answering questions and there is absolutely no customer support. It turns out that I paid money for a faulty product, and no one answers me to solve the problem and I cannot return the money for a low-quality product.'' So many issues/bugs (that we can see in your video, such a insane hotpoints.. )/questions on the Kickstarter page... now the price is $329 which is much closer to a Seestar S30 that provides great imaging so seems a little pointless. On their site, the project seems dead, you can't even buy it. I guess they discovered if smart scopes start at around 400 USD, there is a reason for it :) At this price it was an obvious scam. Looking at the website as well, trying to deceive people telling them the cheapest smart telescope is worth 1999 USD :D If you re looking for a REAL smart scope that actually works, translate this page to English (I've had 3 smart scopes, still 2 and I m sharing pics and feedback about the other models I do not own) : https://www.astronotrip.fr/2025/04/comparatif-des-telescopes-intelligents.html
I agree with everything you wrote. People have made me aware of what has been happening in the comments under this video and as I stated before I will not be working with this company anymore. I think delays are to be expected with any startup but the lack of communication is truly concerning. Also, when I did this, it was listed for $159, at which price it was totally worth it as a fun educational toy and I stand behind that statement. Of course, that's only if they actually send it to you...
@the_space_koala I agree at 160usd it's a great little toy. Indeed if you receive it :D
@the_space_koala Did you delete my comment on your video? There was a link to a YouTube channel where you could see something dangling and rattling inside the telescope
hey, no I didn't... I wonder if YT censors comments with links? perhaps you can post it like "youtube dot com etc"
I know you have nothing to do with this, but could you make a video to help us who supported this telescope on Kickstarter and have not had any response from the company for months? Several people have received it, but many others have not even received a response from the company. I myself bought it only because I thought it would be worth it after seeing this video last year.
I’m so sorry you’re in this situation. The company is not very responsive indeed (they have asked me to do a follow-up after new features they developed) but it’s been 2 months of back and forth not being able to do the firmware update. Thank you for letting me know about this, if this is the case I prefer not giving them any more visibility on my channel until the shipping of all units is addressed
I received my telescope less than a week ago. It does not work correctly. Edusnap claims a 3 year warranty, but there is no way to claim the warranty. Their website, the Kickstarter page, and the app have no way to contact anyone or make a claim.
they're not very responsive and I received comments from others that they're just not sending the telescopes - extremely disappointing and I will not be working with them again unless this is addressed. what is your issue? Not saying I can help, but who knows?
Does app support Japanese?
It doesn’t
I finally got my 'scope! I was all excited and went out to capture some images.. and the AZ mount 'died'. EduSnap were great, and a new AZ mount is on its way to me. They are a great company!! I do have a question.. I only received 2 USB-C cables. I also purchased a 3rd. party power bank. I used one of the white cables to connect to my power bank. When I plugged in the power bank, the telescope started to move.. to an upright position and then stopped! The motor then started to make a whining noise, and failed. EduSnap told me that it should've moved to a horizontal position. I emailed them about this and haven't heard back yet. As such, do I have to use the power cable they provide [not one of the 2 white USB-C''s]? I didn't get that 3rd. power cable. Have you tried using one of your white USB-C cables instead? I need to rule out if using a white one was an issue.. and that I should've used their power cable [which I didn't get]. My power bank does meet the specs needed for the 'scope..
I ordered one. You will be able to transfer RAW images to your PC.. I tend to disagree in that this telescope is good for astro-photography. They have a web page listing updates and improvements coming. I don't have enough money for a Seestar. When I saw the images that were taken with the EduSnap.. I'm more than happy with its results.. There was an image of the Orion Nebula on their page.. and it looked a bit blurry. I asked them about it, and that image was created on a rig that is not going to be the final 'scope. That rig introduced the blur. There introduction does indeed state that it is good fpr astro photography. They said it may not be precisely as detailed as the Seestar S50.. but they listed they are improving the software to render more nebula details. They also are creating a power bank for it. I bought my own [a different one] on Amazon .. that is compatible. I'm super excited to get my 'scope!! This is a dream come true for me.
They did reach out to me and mentioned a lot of updates would come in December. If that’s the case I’ll test it again :) congrats on your first scope, clear skies!
@the_space_koala Thank you! I also was told that images made by the stacking process won't be quite as good as images you post-process from the RAW ones. Well, I will know for sure once I can make my own images. Either way.. I'll be happy!! The area I live in is Bortle 3 - 4 ...
@the_space_koaladid they ever update it again? I see it's listed for $300usd now.
Well done. Thanks for reviewing this.
Nice! If I didn't already have the s50... I have wished for an eyepiece on it though. 👍
Buongiorno, il regalo di Natale per mia moglie sarà uno smart telescope. Mi intriga questo modello startup di EDUSNAP, tuttavia volevo chiederti se tu conosci l'azienda produttrice. Sul web non ci sono notizie e alcuni su Kickstarter hanno tolto il sostegno perché non si fidano di loro. Grazie per il tuo lavoro di divulgazione.
buongiorno, li "conosco" solo perché mi hanno contattato per mandarmi il telescopio da testare. So che stanno facendo alcuni miglioramenti al software in base del feedback dato da me e altri tester - in questo senso sono simpatici e ho fiducia che miglioreranno il prodotto continuamente. Se tua moglie invece vuole fare solo fotografia e non vuole necessariamente guardare dentro l'oculare, ci sono tante opzioni molto affidabili, tipo il seestar (piccolo modello: http://bit.ly/4g7qCd5 - ho postato i miei test recentemente e funziona molto bene) - anche perché non mi fiderei che l'Edusnap arriverà per natale.
4:55 Said "this is not meant to be an astrophotography device" Kickstarters page "EduSnap:2-in-1 Telescope for Stargazing & Astrophotography" Notice is says "Astrophotography" So yes, the device is meant for astrophotography as that is what is is advertised as doing.
The video - as always - states my personal views and opinions, even if that doesn't align with whatever is advertised. I don' think this device should be used for astrophotography, at least not in the sense that we use the word "astrophotography" on this channel. Surely, you can take pictures of the stars with it.
@the_space_koala Trying to understand if meant it didnt have feature, if what you are saying is true, then it would be a miss on backing it. As in the feature isnt as good as what i thought would be. Thanks for quick response.
On their update page, they stated that they are improving their software son that more detail will be seen in nebulae and such.
Stargazing in the daytime?
The sun is a star 😁
In your image of the Horsehead Nebula, there are a number of dotted 'streaks'.. What are those? - and can that be eliminated?
hey, those are the hot pixels I mentioned. when you use dark frames (like I did for the Andromeda photo) they are not there
@the_space_koala OK.. Thanks! Good to know! I'm *hoping* I will be able to get this telescope for my birthday... I cannot afford a Seestar.
I hope you’ll be able to get one soon!
So in order to take a picture of a deep sky object.. you would then take a screen-grab of that image on your phone.. or does the App automatically save the image into the phone's gallery? or?
As of now you can save the image directly from the app onto your phone (no need to screen shot). I believe the idea for the final version is that they will be storing them on the internal storage.
Very cool video. Great to see new developments in the smart telescope arena. Thank you for your presentation!!!
thank you for saying that! I feel like there's a new smart scope every week almost
No one uses a telescope to look for, and to look at the vast amounts of darkness, but every one uses it, to look for and to look at the tiny specks of light, even if it is only reflected light. No one scours the worlds to discover signs of death and stupidity, but everyone searches the worlds for signs of life and intelligence. There is plenty of darkness in the world, light is very rare, that is what makes light all the more precious. There is plenty of war in the world, peace is very rare, that is what makes peace all the more precious. There is plenty of death and stupidity in the world, life and intelligence is very rare, that is what makes life and intelligence all the more precious. No one ever cares for the darkness. Everyone cares for the light.
How does it look pointing at the moon or the planets?
The Moon will look quite good, probably somewhat better than the Sun you see here (due to calmer atmosphere at night). It is too small to observe planets (you see my Jupiter shot in this video)
@the_space_koala Ahh thank you for replying, I must have missed the picture of Jupiter, I've seen it now. I don't understand how you can get a better picture of distant galaxies than planets which are closer. I guess I have a lot to learn. My 4 year old daughter is really into space and planets, she's been able to list all the planets in order since she was 3 and we play a planet card game most nights. My father purchased a telescope for her last Christmas but it's not very good, it's manual and it's more for bird spotting than looking at planets! Is there a telescope you would recommend for me to use to show my 3 and 4 year old daughters good shots of the moon and maybe also planets?
@lukemullet nebulas and galaxies are much further but they're much MUCH bigger in the sky. Planets just look like stars until you have a large enough telescope to see their surface. I think it will be difficult to get it all - especially if you also want pictures. Planets are bright and are an interesting view in refractors with the very least 70mm diameter - the larger the better here, as they allow for better magnifications. Deep sky objects are much more faint, however photographically they don't require huge instruments. You could get a small smart telescope for deepsky observation and perhaps a small tabletop dobsonian (manual) scope for the planets - they're also quite inexpensive.
This was a great review! Thank you.🔭